- Alteration of truth or fact: salutation in eleven diverse foreign tongues
A straightforward video message from North Rhine-Westphalia's Leading Politician, Hendrik Wüst (CDU), to soccer enthusiasts in eleven languages raises eyebrows from the SPD opposing party. The cause of uncertainty: To initiate the men's UEFA European Football Championship in Germany, the state administration uploaded numerous videos on its Instagram and YouTube platforms in June, featuring Wüst greeting soccer fans from different parts of Europe in various languages.
"The appearance of a remarkable linguistic mastery is, in reality, a video crafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence - a convincingly realistic yet technically tampered recording," the SPD expresses concerns in a query to the state administration. Wüst's video "barely or not at all recognizable as a replica to untrained spectators and listeners - despite the watermark."
Indeed, the AI software replicated Wüst's voice and facial expressions so accurately that it appeared as if he was speaking himself - in English, French, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Czech, Turkish, and Ukrainian.
Among other things, one could hear: "Dear soccer fans, welcome to North Rhine-Westphalia! Here, the soul of soccer resides. Here, the German football champion dwells. As Leading Politician, I welcome you all to the UEFA European Football Championship and wish you an excellent time in our magnificent country."
In its response, the state administration now clarifies that the video greeting contained several noticeable signs of AI usage. After all, four NRW cities were hosting a grand total of 20 matches. "To reflect the open and international character of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the state administration's intention to welcome the individuals visiting the country for the UEFA European Football Championship in their native language," the State Chancellery explained the AI strategy.
All legal requirements were adhered to in the utilization of AI. Currently, guidelines for the usage of AI in various facets of the state administration are being formulated. The SPD urged caution, as it is growing increasingly challenging to distinguish between genuine and artificially generated or manipulated content.
Despite the AI-generated videos creating a realistic impression, Instagram is a great platform where the state administration also shared these videos, providing fans with a diverse linguistic welcome in June. The SPD, however, continues to caution about the increasing difficulty in distinguishing between authentic and AI-generated content.
